Thoughts on Open Source, Analytics

2007 was a desert of Blogging

2007 was an off year for me when it comes to blogging. Not a surprise, since my first blog after returning from my trip to Argentina was entitled “Am I done blogging?”

Seeing that I’m a self proclaimed “Data Dynamo and BI Geek” and even google agrees (search term “BI Geek” yields me at the top) it seems only fitting for me to see how bad 2007 was… You know, by the numbers.

First, pop the top on the wordpress database schema. (5 minutes)
Second, write a simple SQL Query based cube (blogmart.mondrian.xml) on top of my blog data (posts, categories) (15 minutes)
Third, do some analysis in JPivot to see how 2007 really shaped up against previous years ( instant )

2007 was my worst blogging year, ever. Including 2004 which I started blogging mid year! Ouch!

Another interesting data point. I’ve blogged a bunch about Oracle, and Open Source. When I was first blogging I was working with Oracle as a focus of my consultancy. End of 2005 I began investigating Open Source BI in earnest, and even jumped onto the Pentaho ship for the better part of 2006 and 2007. How did this change in professional life affect my blog content? A bunch!

In 2004 and 2005 my blog content was give or take, 75% Oracle and 25% open source. 2006 that proportion flipped and the desert of 2007 I’ve done ZERO Oracle blogs.

What about comments? What topics yield the most number of comments and discussion?

Open Source, Pentaho, Personal, General Topics. Oracle was one of the least “commented” sections, even though I know from google keyword analytics its one of the things that drives traffic to my blog.

Well, there you have it. A year in the review of my (lacking) blog. Perhaps my new years resolution should be to blog more?

Couldn’t help wondering how you categorized this post (since it will no doubt appear in the 2008 blog analysis). Maybe “Introspective/retrospective” mixed with a little “DIY OLAP”.

Whatever the causes of your blogger’s block, I’m hoping that you are beginning to see a lessening of symptoms.

Regarding the blank screen of your blog client: I find that intimidating too; so I use my email client to compose an email, and imagine that it’s going to just one person until the moment when I post it into my blog. (My email client also does a better job of saving my work if my machine/network hiccups.)

As for the other factors, I wish you plenty of interesting things to blog about in 2008 (and hopefully will provide you with some of these myself!), just enough time in airport departure lounges to write them, and lots of feedback from the multitudes of us who enjoy your writing.